# Category Archives: Mathematics in the news

## Mathematics and epidemiology

Mathematics is a useful tool in studying the growth of infections in a population, such as what occurs in epidemics.  A simple model is given by a first-order differential equation, the logistic equation, $\frac{dx}{dy}=\beta x(1-x)$ which is discussed in almost any … Continue reading

## 3

After posting about Booker and Sutherland’s cool expression of 42 as a sum of three cubes, Drew Sutherland wrote to say that they found a new way to write 3 as a sum of three cubes: \$569936821221962380720^3 + (-569936821113563493509)^3 +  … Continue reading

## 42

The number 42 is famous for its occurrence in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In 2032, Adele might come out with a new album with 42 as its title.  But today, the fame of the number 42 has to … Continue reading

## Karen Uhlenbeck wins the 2019 Abel Prize

Karen Uhlenbeck is being awarded the 2019 Abel Prize.  It is a remarkable award for a remarkable mathematician.  Uhlenbeck did fundamental work in a quickly developing area of mathematics at an early stage of its development.  I was a graduate … Continue reading

## Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine, from the Simons Foundation, has been publishing some excellent articles about mathematics.  It is not a research journal, so Mathematical Reviews doesn’t cover it.  Nevertheless, if you want to dig deeper into some of the mathematical issues discussed … Continue reading